{"id":57730,"date":"2022-09-24T11:28:50","date_gmt":"2022-09-24T15:28:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/?p=57730"},"modified":"2023-09-24T11:30:12","modified_gmt":"2023-09-24T15:30:12","slug":"nectar-of-devotion-chapter-fifty-further-analysis-of-mixed-rasas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/nectar-of-devotion-chapter-fifty-further-analysis-of-mixed-rasas\/","title":{"rendered":"Nectar of Devotion – CHAPTER FIFTY: – Further Analysis of Mixed Rasas"},"content":{"rendered":"
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CHAPTER FIFTY<\/span><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
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Further Analysis of Mixed Rasas<\/span><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
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As already described, if certain kinds of mellows become mixed and there is a joining of opposite mellows, then the situation is called incompatible. When one is eating sweet rice and something salty or sour is mixed in, the mixture is not very tasteful and it is called incompatible.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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An exemplary instance of incompatibility is a statement by an impersonalist who was lamenting aloud, \u201cI have been attached simply to the impersonal Brahman feature, and I have passed my days uselessly in practicing trance. I have not given any proper attention to \u015ar\u012b K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, who is the source of the impersonal Brahman and who is the reservoir of all transcendental pleasures.\u201d In this statement there are traces of neutrality and conjugal love, and the resulting humor is incompatible.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Sometimes it is found in places like V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana that a person with a slight devotional attitude of neutral love for K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a may immediately and artificially try to attain to the platform of conjugal love. But because of the incompatibility of neutrality and conjugal love, the person is found to fall from the standard of devotional service.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Incompatibility was expressed by a great devotee on the platform of neutrality when he sarcastically prayed, \u201cI am very anxious to see K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is many millions of times more affectionate than the Pit\u0101s [forefathers] in the Pit\u1e5bloka and who is always worshiped by the great demigods and sages. I am a little surprised, however, that although K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is the husband of the goddess of fortune, His body is often marked with the nail pricks of ordinary society girls!\u201d Here is an example of incompatibility due to a mixture of neutrality and high conjugal love.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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There is the following statement by a gop\u012b:<\/em> \u201cMy dear K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, the first thing You should do is just embrace me with Your strong arms. Then, my dear friend, I shall first smell Your head, and then I shall enjoy with You.\u201d This is an example of incompatibility in which conjugal love is the whole and servitorship is the part.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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One devotee said, \u201cMy dear K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, how can I address You as my son when You are addressed by the great Ved\u0101ntists as the Absolute Truth and by the Vai\u1e63\u1e47avas who follow the principles of N\u0101rada Pa\u00f1car\u0101tra<\/em> as the Supreme Personality of Godhead? You are the same Supreme Person, so how shall my tongue be so extraordinarily bold as to address You as an ordinary son?\u201d In this statement there is a mixture of neutrality and parental love, and the result is incompatible.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Another devotee said, \u201cMy dear friend, my youthful beauty is as temporary as lightning in the sky, and therefore my possessing attractive bodily features is unimportant. I have never met K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, so I request you to please arrange for my meeting Him immediately.\u201d In this statement there is the incompatibility of a neutral mellow mixed with conjugal love.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A lusty woman in Kail\u0101sa once told K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, \u201cMy dear K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, may You have a long life!\u201d Then, after saying this she embraced K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. This is an example of incompatibility resulting from a mixture of parental love and conjugal love.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The purpose of the above analysis is to show that in the mixture of various mellows, or reciprocations of ecstatic love between K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a and the devotees, if the result is not pure there will be incompatibility. According to the opinion of stalwart devotees like R\u016bpa Gosv\u0101m\u012b, as soon as there are contradictory feelings, the result is incompatible.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Once an ordinary female devotee addressed K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, \u201cMy dear boy, I know that my body is just a composition of flesh and blood and can never be enjoyable to You. But still, I have been so attracted by Your beauty that I wish that You accept me as Your conjugal lover.\u201d In this statement there is incompatibility caused by a mixture of ghastliness and conjugal love in devotional service.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u015ar\u012bla R\u016bpa Gosv\u0101m\u012b warns devotees to not commit such incompatibilities in their writings or in their dealings. The presence of such contradictory feelings is called ras\u0101bh\u0101sa.<\/em> When there is ras\u0101bh\u0101sa<\/em> in any book of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a consciousness, no learned scholar or devotee will accept it.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the Vidagdha-m\u0101dhava,<\/em> second act, verse 17, Paur\u1e47am\u0101s\u012b tells N\u0101nd\u012bmukh\u012b, \u201cJust see how wonderful it is! Great sages meditate upon K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a after being relieved from all material transactions, and with great difficulty they try to situate K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a in their hearts. And opposed to this, this young girl is trying to withdraw her mind from K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a so that she can apply it in the material activities of sense gratification. What a regrettable thing it is that this girl is trying to drive away from her heart the same K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a who is sought after by great sages through severe austerities and perseverance!\u201d Although in this statement there are contradictory mellows of ecstatic devotion, the result is not incompatible because the conjugal love is so elevated that it is defeating all other varieties of mellows. \u015ar\u012bla J\u012bva Gosv\u0101m\u012b comments in this connection that such a loving state of mind is not possible for all. It is possible only in the case of the gop\u012bs<\/em> of V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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There are many other instances of contradictory mellows where there is no perverted experience of ras\u0101bh\u0101sa.<\/em> Once some minor demigod of the heavenly planets remarked, \u201cK\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, whose joking words were once the source of so much laughter for the residents of Vraja, has now been attacked by the serpent king, K\u0101liya, and He has become the object of everyone\u2019s overwhelming lamentation!\u201d In this instance there is a mixture of laughter and compassion, but there is no incompatibility, because by both of these rasas<\/em> the loving affection for K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is increased.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u015ar\u012bmat\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b was once told that although She had stopped all activities, She was still the supreme source of inspiration for all kinds of devotional service. The statement says, \u201cMy dear R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b, in separation from K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a You are now as still as the most beautiful tree, whose gracefulness is not blocked by any covering of leaves. Your tranquil mood makes You appear to be completely merged in Brahman realization!\u201d In this example there is a mixture of conjugal love and neutral love, but the conjugal love has surpassed everything. Actually, Brahman realization is only a stunted existence. There is the following statement by K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a Himself: \u201c\u015ar\u012bmat\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b has become peace personified for Me. Because of Her, I now go without sleep. I stare constantly without blinking My eyes, and I am always in a meditative mood. Because of Her I have even made My home in the cave of a mountain!\u201d This is an example of conjugal love mixed with neutral love, but there is no incompatibility.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The following is a conversation consisting of questions put before Rambh\u0101, a celebrated beautiful woman, and her corresponding answers. Rambh\u0101 was asked, \u201cMy dear Rambh\u0101, who are you?\u201d She answered, \u201cI am peace personified.\u201d Question: \u201cThen why are you in the sky?\u201d Answer: \u201cI am in the sky to experience the Supreme Absolute Truth.\u201d Question: \u201cThen why are you staring?\u201d Answer: \u201cJust to look into the supreme beauty of the Absolute Truth.\u201d Question: \u201cThen why do you appear to be disturbed in mind?\u201d Answer: \u201cBecause Cupid is acting.\u201d In the above example also there is no perverted representation of mellows, because on the whole the ecstasy of conjugal love has exceeded the neutral position of devotional service.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the Tenth Canto of \u015ar\u012bmad-Bh\u0101gavatam<\/a>,<\/em> sixtieth chapter, verse 45, Rukmi\u1e47\u012b-dev\u012b said, \u201cMy dear husband, a woman who has no taste for the transcendental pleasure available from Your personal contact must be inclined to accept as her husband somebody who is externally a combination of mustache, beard, body hairs, fingernails and some head hair. And within him there are muscles, bones, blood, intestinal worms, stools, mucus, bile and similar things. Actually, such a husband is only a dead body, but due to not being attracted to Your transcendental form, a woman will have to accept this combination of stools and urine for her husband.\u201d This statement, which lists the ingredients of a material body, is not a perverted mellow in transcendental realization because it shows correct discrimination between matter and spirit.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the Vidagdha-m\u0101dhava,<\/em> second act, verse 31, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a tells His friend, \u201cMy dear friend, what a wonderful thing it is that since I have seen the beautiful lotus eyes of \u015ar\u012bmat\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b, I have developed a tendency to spit on the moon and the lotus flower!\u201d This is an example of conjugal love mixed with ghastliness, but there is no incompatibility.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The following is a statement that describes different mellows of devotional service: \u201cAlthough K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a was invincible to any enemy, the cowherd boys of V\u1e5bnd\u0101vana became almost blackish with astonishment upon seeing His wonderful royal garments and His fighting feats on the Battlefield of Kuruk\u1e63etra.\u201d In this statement, although there is a mixture of chivalrous activities and dread in devotional service, there is no perverted reflection of mellows.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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One resident of Mathur\u0101 requested her father to bolt the doors and then go with her to the school of S\u0101nd\u012bpani Muni to find K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. She complained that K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a had completely stolen her mind. In this incident there is a mixture of conjugal love and parental love, but there is no incompatibility.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A brahm\u0101nand\u012b<\/em> (impersonalist) expressed his desire as follows: \u201cWhen shall I be able to see that supreme absolute Personality of Godhead who is eternal bliss and knowledge and whose chest has become smeared with red ku\u1e45kuma<\/em>powder by touching the breast of Rukmi\u1e47\u012b?\u201d Here there is a mixture of conjugal love and neutrality. Although this is a contradiction of mellows, there is no incompatibility, because even a brahm\u0101nand\u012b<\/em> will become attracted to K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Nanda Mah\u0101r\u0101ja told his wife, \u201cMy dear Ya\u015bod\u0101, although your son K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is as delicate and soft as the mallik\u0101<\/em> flower, He has gone to kill the Ke\u015b\u012b demon, who is as strong as a mountain. Therefore I have become a little disturbed. But never mind. All auspiciousness to my son! I shall raise this hand, which is as strong as a pillar, and I shall kill the Ke\u015b\u012b demon just to give freedom from all anxieties to the inhabitants of Vraja-ma\u1e47\u1e0dala!\u201d In this statement there are two kinds of mellows: chivalry and dread. Both of them, however, improve the position of parental love, and therefore there is no incompatibility.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the Lalita-m\u0101dhava<\/em> of \u015ar\u012bla R\u016bpa Gosv\u0101m\u012b it is stated, \u201cAfter K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s arrival in Ka\u1e41sa\u2019s arena, Ka\u1e41sa\u2019s priest looked at K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a with a detestful expression. The entire arena was filled with dread on the part of Ka\u1e41sa and his priest and restless expressions of pleasure on the cheeks of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s friends. Frustration was felt by His envious rivals. The great sages meditated. Hot tears were in the eyes of Devak\u012b and other motherly ladies, and hairs stood on the bodies of the expert warriors. There was astonishment in the hearts of demigods such as Indra. The servants danced, and the restless eyes of all the young girls glanced about.\u201d In this statement there is a description of a combination of different mellows, but there is no incompatibility.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A similar statement, which is free from incompatibility, is in the Lalita-m\u0101dhava,<\/em> wherein the author blesses all the readers of the book in the following manner: \u201cAlthough the Supreme Personality of Godhead is able to lift a mountain with a finger of His left hand, He is always humble and meek. He is always very kind to His loving devotees. He has frustrated Indra\u2019s attempt at vengeance by refusing him the sacrifice of Indra-yaj\u00f1a. He is the cause of all pleasure to all young girls. May He be ever compassionate upon you all!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0   CHAPTER FIFTY Further Analysis of Mixed Rasas As already described, if certain kinds of mellows become mixed and there is a joining of opposite mellows, then the situation is called incompatible. When one is … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-17 12:13:13","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57730\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}